Jewelry bag

Abstract

A jewelry carrying bag is formed of a sheet of flexible material having a central jewelry storage zone and a pair of side flaps which are foldable to cover the central zone. A support flap or strip is secured to the central storage zone of the bag and includes means for securing a piece of jewelry to the flap so that the jewelry will be securely mounted on the central support zone of the bag. The side flaps of the sheet can then be folded over the jewelry on the central support zone and the bag then rolled into a compact configuration for easy carrying.

Description

The present invention relates to jewelry display devices, and more particularly to a readily transported jewelry display bag.

In the jewelry industry it is often necessary for proprietors or salesmen to transport jewelry from one location or store to another and thus convenient jewelry carrying bags or cases are necessary. This is particularly true for example with traveling jewelry salesmen who carry a relatively large quantity of jewelry items with them at all times in order to display their goods from place to place for the purposes of obtaining orders. Similarly, in custom jewelry operations, jewels are often times carried to the home of individual customers for display. Typically, in such situations, the jewels are carried in individual conventional jewelry boxes or are simply placed together in a common box or bag for transport and safekeeping. These previously proposed carriers generally do not lend themselves to a proper display of all of the items of comparable jewelry being displayed by the salesman since they do not have individual mounting or holding devices for the separate pieces of jewelry. Moreover, because the jewelry is normally simply placed loosely in the carrier box or bag, or frictionally engaged in recesses in the jewelry box in the conventional manner, it is quite possible that individual pieces of jewelry may fall from the box or bag and become lost should the box be dropped. Further, with such bags or boxes the jewelry can be easily stolen during display by persons looking at the jewelry since the pieces of jewelry can be relatively easily taken from a display box or bag in which they are loosely placed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a jewelry bag for transporting and displaying articles of jewelry which is relatively economical in manufacture and which prevents inadvertent loss or thefts from the bag.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a display bag for jewelry in which individual articles of jewelry are held in fixed positions within the bag.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a jewelry bag or pouch by which individual articles of jewelry can be safely displayed and transported.

In one embodiment of the present invention these objects are accomplished by the provision of a relatively flexible carrying bag having a central jewelry mounting zone and side flaps which are foldable over the mounting zone in order to cover the jewels when the bag is not in use. The bag itself is foldable so that it can be rolled up into a compact configuration for transport and carrying and in addition has elastic loops or tie strings or the like by which the bag is held in its closed compact configuration. In order to securely support the jewelry on the central zone of the bag, the bag is provided with a plurality of pairs of support flaps secured to the central zone thereof. The support flaps in each pair are provided with cooperating male and female snap members so that a piece of jewelry, such as a ring or the like, can be superimposed over one of the snap members, between two adjacent support flaps, with the snap members therein being snapped together in fastening relationship. As a result, the ring or other piece of jewelry is held firmly in place by the snap members between the supporting flaps. Accordingly, the jewelry cannot inadvertently fall from the support member and cannot be readily removed therefrom.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a jewelry display bag constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1 rolled into its transporting configuration;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a jewelry display bag constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the display bag of FIG. 4 shown in its partially closed configuration;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a display tray constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view, similar to FIG. 1, of a jewelry display bag constructed in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lin 7--7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a jewelry display bag constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view, similar to FIG. 8, of a jewelry display bag constructed in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, it will be seen that a jewelry display bag 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention, includes a generally rectangular sheet 12 formed of a flexible fabric material. Preferably, sheet 12 comprises a single sheet of material which defines a central zone 14 and a pair of side flaps 16 that are adopted to be folded over the central zone 14, as indicated in phantom lines in the drawing. The side flaps are defined as discrete members of the bag by folding the sheet material 12 along longitudinally spaced lines 15 to define small longitudinal folds 17 which are sewn in any convenient manner to provide the central mounting zone 14 therebetween. Alternatively flaps 16 can be provided as separate sheet members sewn to central sheet 12 defining zone 14.

Central mounting zone 14 of sheet 12 includes a plurality of jewelry supporting members 18 secured thereto for the purpose of holding individual pieces of jewelry on the display bag, as more fully described hereinafter. With the pieces of jewelry secured on support members 18, the flaps 16 can be folded over to cover the jewelry and the bags can then be rolled into a compact configuration for storage or transportation, as seen in FIG. 3. In this regard, the central zone 14 of the bag is provided with a pair of elastic loops 20 secured thereto in any convenient manner, i.e., for example by stitching to one end thereof. These loops can then be placed about the periphery of the rolled up bag, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3, to keep the bag in its compact configuration.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, support flaps 18 are formed from a flexible fabric material similar to that of the material of which the sheet 12 is formed. As seen more clearly in FIG. 2 of the drawings, support flaps 18 comprise a pair of cooperating flaps 22, 24, each of which is formed of a flexible fabric material strip folded over upon itself. The ends 26 of the strips are sewn together along a stitching path 28 to the center mounting zone 14 of the sheet 12. Each of the pairs of flaps 22, 24 are sewn in spaced relation to each other, as seen in FIG. 1, along generally parallel lines extending perpendicular to the longitudinal direction or long dimension of the sheet.

Referring again to FIG. 2 of the drawing it is seen that the flaps 22, 24 have female and male snap members 30, 32 respectively secured thereto. These snap members are of conventional construction and are secured to the flaps in any convenient manner as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Preferably, a plurality of these snap structures are secured in predetermined spaced relation to the cooperating flaps 22, 24, in each of the rows of flaps 18, as seen in FIG. 1. By this arrangement, a piece of jewelry such as a ring or the like can be placed in superimposed relation about one of the snap assemblies 30, 32 and then the snap elements can be secured together to hold the ring in a fixed position between their associated flap members 22, 24. As a result, the ring is held securely in position in the display bag and yet is exposed to view. By the provision of the snap fasteners 30, 32 it is seen that the ring cannot inadvertently fall from the display bag when the bag is opened, nor can it be readily removed therefrom by a thief.

It is noted that the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrates the snap fasteners 30, 32 spaced relatively closely together, for the purpose of displaying rings in the display bag 10. However, it is to be understood that the spacing between the snap fasteners can be selected as desired depending upon the type of jewelry to be displayed in the bag. Thus, for example, if bracelets or the like were to be carried and displayed in the bag 10, then less snap fasteners would be used in order to provide sufficient room between fasteners for the larger bracelets.

As mentioned, because the bag 10 is formed of a flexible material, as are the flaps 22, 24, the bag can be conveniently rolled up into a compact configuration. Preferably, the bag is rolled along an axis which extends parallel to the path of stitching 28 of the flaps 22, 24 to the bag 14. This provides a less bulky configuration when the bag is rolled up, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4A of the drawing wherein it is seen that a display bag 40 is provided which is intended for the purpose of transporting and displaying a single ring or other article of jewelry. This is particularly useful in custom jewelry operations where a single item is to be shown to a prospective customer at his home. Alternatively, this embodiment of the invention is useful in lieu of the conventional ring case provided by jewelers when a ring or the like is sold to a customer.

As seen in FIG. 4A, the display bag 40 comprises a relatively square structure which may be formed of one or two pieces of flexible material. In the illustrative embodiment of the invention, the display bag is formed from an upper sheet of material 42 and a lower sheet 44 sewn together about the periphery 46 thereof, in any convenient manner. These sheets provide a central mounting zone 52 corresponding to zone 14 described above for mounting individual pieces of jewelry thereon. Preferably, this mounting zone is defined by a square reinforcing member of cardboard or stiff fabric 47 positioned between sheets 42 and 44 and sewn thereto along its periphery 49 in the position shown in FIG. 4.

The diametrically opposed corners 48 and 50 of the bag are each provided with conventional male and female snap fasteners, so that these edge corners can be folded over the central mounting zone 52 of the bag, as seen in FIG. 4A. In this manner, the central mounting zone 52 on which the piece of jewelry is mounted is covered and the piece of jewelry is protected.

Display bag 40 is provided with a pair of supporting flaps 54, similar to those illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing. In this embodiment, however, since only a single piece of jewelry is to be displayed, the folded over flaps 22, 24 of the pair 54, are relatively narrow in width and have a single snap fastener assembly 30, 32 secured respectively thereto. Where bag 40 is formed of upper and lower sheets of material, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, the ends 26 of the flaps 22, 24 can be inserted through a slot 56 in the upper sheet 42, into position between the upper and lower sheets, and sewn to both of the sheets in any convenient manner. This arrangement provides a more pleasing and neat appearance for the display bag.

It is contemplated that the bag 40 shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings and the bags of each of the other embodiments of the present invention can be formed of any suitable soft and preferably velvet-like material, in order to protect the jewelry and avoid damaging scratches thereon.

In another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the supporting structure utilized in the display bag of FIG. 1is adapted for placement in a relatively rigid display case or box 60, formed of conventional construction. In this embodiment, the side flaps 16 of the bag of FIG. 1 are eliminated and simply the central zone 14 thereof is provided, secured in any convenient manner to the base of the box. Central zone 14 is provided with pairs of flaps 22, 24 having male and female snap members 30, 32 secured thereto in substantially the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings for the purpose of securing and displaying rings or the like in box 60. This structure may be utilized for example in display cases at jewelry stores or the like or may be provided with a top in a conventional manner for the purpose of transporting the jewelry. In either case, the desirable ends achieved by the structure of the invention are accomplished in that the jewelry is securely held in a fixed position in a display case and cannot be readily or inadvertently removed from between the support flaps. That is, the male and female snap members must be physically displaced from one another before the ring or other article of jewelry can be removed. The fact that the snap members must be physically disengaged to remove the ring will discourage possible thefts of the jewelry. In addition, the force required to disengage the snaps is such that the snaps will not open under normal impacts, so that even if the case is dropped the rings will not fall from between their associated flaps.

It is noted that since display case 60 of FIG. 5 will not be folded in the manner of the bag of FIG. 1, flaps 22, 24, may be reinforced by stiffening sheets of cardboard, paper or plastic or the like, between the folds of each of the flaps. This will assist in maintaining the flaps in a generally vertical position in the box for purposes of display.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 and 7 of the drawing wherein it is seen that a display bag 70 having a central zone 14 and a pair of side flaps 16, similar to that of the bag 10 of FIG. 1, is provided with a plurality of support flaps 72 secured to central zone 14 transversely of the longitudinal direction thereof. The flaps 72, are similar in construction to the flaps 22, 24 and comprise folded over strips of flexible material so that their ends 26 are secured along stitching paths 28 to the central zone 14 of the bag. This construction of the present invention is used to secure larger sized jewelry, such as clips, tie tacks or the like, to the flaps in the bag. This is accomplished by providing apertures 74 in predetermined spaced locations along the length of each of the flaps 72. By this construction, the pin 76 of a broach 78 or the like can be inserted through the aperture 74 for connection to its cooperating hook 80 in the conventional manner.

It is noted that in order to keep the apertures 74 in each of the sides of the flap 72 in alignment, so as to facilitate insertion of pin 76 therein, the sides of the flaps can be sewn along lines 82 between each of the apertures 74, in order to limit the amount of movement between the sides of each flap.

The display bag of FIG. 6 is similar in operation to that of FIG. 1 in that the side flaps 16 thereof can be folded over central zone 14, to protect the jewelry mounted thereon, and the bag then can be rolled up into a compact configuration similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings. In this connection one of the ends 84 of the bag 70 can be provided with resilient loops 20, such as that shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, in order to hold the bag in its rolled up configuration. Alternatively, the edge of the bag can be provided with conventional tie strings or the like.

FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings illustrate yet another embodiment of the invention which is adapted to hold bracelets, broaches and the like that can be opened and placed in a flat or extended configuration. As seen therein, the display bag 100 constructed for this purpose includes a central zone 14 and a pair of side flaps 16 which are foldable over the central zone. In addition, the central zone is covered by a sheet of similarly flexible material 102 which in turn is folded at predetermined spaced locations along the length of the bag to define flaps 104 therealong extending generally parallel to each other and perpendicular to the length of the bag in order to facilitate rolling up of the bag.

Flaps 104 are sewn together adjacent their base 106, along stitching paths 108, so that the flaps extend upwardly from sheet 102 to define pockets or spaces 110 therebetween. A pair of elastic bands 112 are secured at their ends 114 to sheet 104 (only one end of each of the bands is shown in FIG. 8) at the endmost flap 104', by stitching paths 108, as seen in FIG. 9. These elastic bands extend through apertures 116 formed in the flaps 104 adjacent their bases, so as to extend across each of the pockets 110. By this construction a bracelet 118 or the like can be laid flat in each of the pockets or spaces 110 with the ends thereof below the respective elastic bands 114. The latter hold the bracelet against sheet 102 and prevent the bracelet from falling from the bag when it is open. They also prevent rapid removal of the bracelet from the bag by a thief.

Bag 100 is similar to the bags of FIGS. 1 and 6 in that the bag can be closed by folding flaps 16 over central zone 14 and rolling the same into the compact configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 3. In addition, either of the ends 120 of the bag can be provided with loops similar to the loops 20 of the embodiment of FIG. 1, which will hold the bag in its rolled up configuration. Alternatively, the ends 120 of the bag can be provided with tie strings for the same purpose.

Yet another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 10 of the drawings wherein a jewelry display bag 130 is provided which is also formed of a single sheet of flexible fabric material and sewn together along folds 17 to define a central zone 14 and a pair of side flaps 16. In this embodiment of the invention a supporting flap 132 is provided along the line of juncture 134 (i.e., one of the folds 17) between the central zone 14 and one of the flaps 16. the flap 134 is formed of a flexible fabric material similar to that of the material of the bag 130, and is simply a strip of material folded over upon itself and sewn to the bag at its ends along the line 134. A plurality of male and female snap members 136, 138 are provided for cooperation with each other in the bag 130. In the illustrative embodiment, the male members 136 are secured to the flap 132, while the female members B8 are secured to the end 140 of a flexible connecting string 142 in any convenient manner. The opposite end of connecting strings 142 are secured to flap 132 adjacent their associated male snap members 136. In this manner, the female members 138 can be secured to the male members 136 to define a loop, as illustrated at 144 in FIG. 10, which is adapted to hold jewelry in the bag. It is contemplated that this embodiment of the invention can be used to hold rings, and/or necklaces or the like which can be secured into a loop. In this manner, it will be appreciated that a plurality of such necklaces can be placed in adjacent loops 144 along the length of flap 132 and when the bag is opened the necklaces will lie down adjacent one another for easy viewing. This is a substantial improvement over previously proposed transported display bags and the like wherein such necklaces are normally simply placed together loosely in a common box.

The display bag of FIG. 10 can also be folded up in the manner described with respect to the other bags, in that the flaps 16 can be folded over on top of the central zone 14 and the entire bag rolled up into a compact arrangement similar to that shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Again, the end 150 of the display bag can be provided with loops 20 or tie strings, for use in maintaining the bag in its rolled up configuration.

Accordingly, it is seen that relatively simple and inexpensive jewelry bag constructions are provided which are adapted to maintain individual pieces of jewelry securely within the bag and yet hold them in separate locations for easy viewing. In addition, by the structure of the invention, jewelry cannot become inadvertently displaced from the bag if dropped, nor can they be readily removed from the bag.

Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A jewelry display and carrying bag comprising a sheet of flexible material having a central zone and at least two side flaps foldable over said central zone for covering the same, and means defining at least one flexible support flap secured to said central zone of said sheet for supporting a piece of jewelry on said sheet, said supporting means including means operable for securing a piece of jewelry to said flexible support flap and comprising at least two adjacent and operatively associated flexible support flaps; said securing means comprising at least one pair of cooperating male and female snap members secured respectively to said support flaps, whereby said snaps are adapted to be snapped together within the periphery of a piece of jewelry to hold said piece of jewelry between said support flaps and on said central zone.

2. The bag as defined in claim 1 including means for holding said bag in a rolled up configuration.

3. The bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting means comprises a plurality of parallely extending pairs of adjacent and operatively associated flexible support flaps secured to said central zone of said sheet and wherein said supporting means comprises a plurality of pairs of cooperating male and female snap members secured respectively in opposed relation on the support flaps of each of said pairs of support flaps in predetermined spaced relation to each other, whereby each of said pairs of snap members is adapted to be snapped together within the periphery of a piece of jewelry to respectively hold pieces of jewelry between their associated support flaps.

4. The bag as defined in claim 3 wherein each of said flexible support flaps comprises a folded piece of flexible material.

5. The bag as defined in claim 4 wherein the two support flaps in each of said operatively associated pairs of support flaps are sewn together and to said central zone along a common stitching path.

6. The bag as defined in claim 5 wherein said side flaps are foldable over said support flaps and said central zone and said sheet of flexible material is adapted to be rolled over upon itself along an axis extending parallel to said stitching path.

7. The bag as defined in claim 6 including at least one elastic loop secured to one end of said central zone for surrounding and maintaining said bag in its rolled up configuration.

8. The jewelry bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet of flexible material is generally square in plan and said side flaps comprise four generally triangular corner portions thereof.

9. The jewelry bag as defined in claim 8 including cooperating fastening means mounted at diametrically opposed corners of said sheet for securing said corners together over said central zone.

10. The bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said support flaps each comprises a folded piece of flexible material sewn together at one end in operatively associated pairs to said central zone.

11. The jewelry bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said support flaps each comprises a piece of folded material sewn at one end to said central zone of said sheet.

12. The jewelry bag as defined in claim 11 including a plurality of support flaps secured to said central zone in spaced parallely extending relation.

13. The bag as defined in claim 12 wherein said side flaps are foldable over said support flaps and said central zone and said sheet of flexible material is adapted to be rolled over upon itself along an axis extending parallel to said stitching path.

14. The bag as defined in claim 13 including at least one elastic loop secured to one end of said central zone for surrounding and maintaining said bag in its rolled up configuration.

15. The bag as defined in claim 1 including at least one elastic loop secured to one end of said central zone for surrounding and maintaining said bag in its rolled up configuration.

16. A device for supporting and storing jewelry comprising a first relatively flat mounting sheet, at least one pair of operatively associated jewelry support flaps secured to said mounting sheet, and securing means mounted on said flaps for securing individual pieces of jewelry between said pair of flaps; said securing means comprising cooperating male and female snap members respectively mounted on the opposite flaps of said pair of cooperating flaps.

17. The device as defined in claim 16 including a plurality of parallely extending pairs of operatively associated jewelry support flaps and a plurality of said male and female snap members mounted on said flaps in predetermined spaced locations.

18. The device as defined in claim 17 including a relatively rigid container, having a flat base, said mounting sheet being secured to said base for support thereby.